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HEALTH&FITNESS
November14
GROWING AWARENESS
Wondering about the many moustaches making their debuts this
month? Here’s why. The worldwide charity initiative known as
Movember
– “mo” is Aussie slang for moustache – has become
an annual, month-long movement. It gives men (and women) the
chance to learn and talk about health more openly – particularly key
issues like prostate and testicular cancers – and encourages action.
By sporting staches throughout the entire month of November,
these “Mo Bros” become walking, talking billboards with the goal of
sparking conversation to help raise awareness and funds. So, go on
and applaud those upper-lip whiskers in the name of health, and get
some dialogue going about these serious health matters. Here are
some stats to get you started.
• According to World Cancer Research Fund International, prostate
cancer incidence rates are highest in Australia, New Zealand and
North America, and lowest in Asia and Africa. In 2012, Martinique
had the highest rate, followed by Norway and France.
• According to Cancer Research UK, prostate cancer is the second-
most common cancer in men worldwide, and the most common
cancer in males in Europe.
• Testicular cancer occurs mostly among young men between the
ages of 20 and 40 years, according to the Movember Foundation.
• Cancer Research UK says that the highest rates of testicular
cancer are reported for Caucasian populations in industrialised
countries – particularly in western and northern Europe, Australia
and New Zealand; the disease is generally rare in non-Caucasian
populations, New Zealand Maoris being the exception.
• According to the American Cancer Society, a man’s lifetime
chance of developing testicular cancer is about one in 270 and,
because this type of cancer can usually be treated successfully, a
man’s lifetime risk of dying from it is luckily very low – about one in
5,000.
To learn more about Movember, and to make a donation, visit
sg.movember.com
.
NEW SPECIALIST
The Counselling
Place
has expanded
its staff by welcoming
therapist Jessica
D. Koh to the team.
Jessica, who is from
the US and has lived
in the Czech Republic
and the UK as a “third
culture kid”, works with
patients dealing with a range of mood-related
issues including depression, anxiety, anger
and stress, and also has experience working
with domestic violence, rape and other crises.
New mothers can catch Jessica’s postpartum
depression workshop “This is Not What I
Expected!” on Wednesday, 5 November from
11.15am to 12.45pm; the group will continue
on a regular basis for interested participants.
7500A Beach Road, #04-323 The Plaza.
6887 3695 | thecounsellingplace.com
GIVE
IT A
TRI
If you’re looking for the ultimate challenge, look
no further; the weeklong multi-sports event,
Challenge Laguna Phuket Tri-Fest
, is back
for its second year – this time, with an estimated
1,500 athletes competing for the 25,000-euro
prize. It all kicks off on 23 November with the
Laguna Phuket Triathlon, which entails a 1.8K
swim, a 55K bike ride and 12K run through
beautiful tropical scenery, and culminates one
week later in the Challenge Laguna Phuket
(CLP) on 30 November. The CLP, which consists
of a 1.9K swim, a 90K bike ride and a 21K run,
is a half-ironman distance event that’s sure to
attract the crème de la crème of pro triathletes.
In fact, 2013 champion, Rasmus Petraeus
(Denmark), is set to return this year to defend his
title, challenging other record-winning champions
from across the globe; also taking on the tropical
challenge are female pros such as Radka
Vordickova (Czech Republic) and Tamsin Lewis
(UK). For more information and to register, visit
challengelagunaphuket.com
.